Maleeha Lodhi

Maleeha Lodhi
مليحه لودھى
HI
Lodhi at the Pakistan-US talks in 2001
Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the United Nations
In office
6 February 2015 – 30 October 2019
PresidentMamnoon Hussain
Arif Alvi
Prime MinisterNawaz Sharif
Shahid Khaqan Abbasi
Nasirul Mulk (Caretaker)
Imran Khan
Preceded byMasood Khan
Succeeded byMunir Akram
17th Pakistan Ambassador to the United States
In office
17 December 1999 – 4 August 2002
PresidentPervez Musharraf
Muhammad Rafiq Tarar
Preceded byRiaz Khokhar
Succeeded byAshraf Qazi
In office
21 January 1994 – 30 January 1997
PresidentFarooq Leghari
Prime MinisterNawaz Sharif
Preceded bySyeda Abida Hussain
Succeeded byRiaz Khokhar
High Commissioner of Pakistan to the United Kingdom
In office
1 April 2003 – 14 June 2008
PresidentPervez Musharraf
Prime MinisterZafarullah Khan Jamali
Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain
Shaukat Aziz
Preceded byAbdul Kader Jaffer
Succeeded byWajid Shamsul Hasan
Personal details
Born15 nov 1962
Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan
Nationality Pakistan
Alma materLondon School of Economics
OccupationDiplomat, strategist, academician
AwardsHilal-e-Imtiaz (2002)

Maleeha Lodhi (Urdu: مليحه لودهى; born 15 November 1962) is a Pakistani diplomat, political scientist, and a former Pakistan's Representative to the United Nations. She was the first woman to hold the position. Previously, she served as Pakistan's envoy to the Court of St James' and twice as its ambassador to the United States.[1][2][3][4]

Born in Lahore to an upper-middle-class family, Lodhi studied political science at the London School of Economics and after receiving her doctorate from the school in 1980, she remained there as a member of the Government Dept] teaching political sociology.[5] She returned to Pakistan in 1986 to become the editor of The Muslim, making her the first woman to edit a national newspaper in Asia. In 1990, she moved to become the founding editor of The News International.[6] In 1994, she was appointed by Prime Minister Mr Nawaz Sharif as Pakistan's envoy to the United States, a position she retained until 1997.[6][7] She was once again appointed to the same position in 1999 by President Musharraf until 2002 when she completed her tenure and moved on to be High Commissioner to the UK.[6][7]

In 2001, Lodhi became a member of the United Nations Secretary General's Advisory Board on Disarmament, she served on the board until 2005. In 2003, President Musharraf appointed her as Pakistan's High Commissioner to the United Kingdom at the Court of St James's, where she remained until 2008. Between 2008 and 2010, she served as a resident fellow at the Institute of Politics and the Kennedy School of Harvard University. In February 2015, Lodhi was introduced by Prime Minister Sharif to serve as Permanent Representative and Ambassador of Pakistan to the UN in New York City, making her the first woman to hold the position.

Lodhi is one of Pakistan's prominent diplomats.[8] She has been named as an international scholar at the Woodrow Wilson Center and, in 1994, Lodhi was named by Time magazine as one of a hundred people in the world who will help to shape the 21st century.[9][10] Lodhi was also a member of the National Defence University's Senate, and has been a member of the advisory council of IISS and continues to be a member of the Global Agenda Council of the World Economic Forum.[11][12] Lodhi is the recipient of the Hilal-i-Imtiaz for Public Service and holds an honorary fellowship from the London School of Economics since 2004 and received an honorary degree of Doctor of Letters from the London Metropolitan University in 2005. She is the author of two books, Pakistan: The External Challenge and Pakistan's Encounter with Democracy. She edited Pakistan: Beyond the Crisis State in 2010.[13][14]

  1. ^ Siddiqui, Naveed (30 September 2019). "Munir Akram to replace Maleeha Lodhi as Pakistan's envoy to UN". DAWN.COM. Retrieved 30 September 2019.
  2. ^ "UNICEF Executive Board reaffirms commitment to giving every child a fair chance in life".
  3. ^ Block, Melissa (29 May 2009). "Pakistani Ex-Ambassador on Unrest". National Public Radio. Retrieved 29 August 2010.
  4. ^ "Dr. Maleeha Lodhi". The Institute of Politics at Harvard University. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
  5. ^ "New Permanent Representative of Pakistan Presents Credentials | Meetings Coverage and Press Releases". www.un.org. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
  6. ^ a b c "Dr. Maleeha Lodhi".
  7. ^ a b Haroon, Asad. "Dr Maleeha Lodhi appointed as Pakistan's permanent representative to UN Dispatch News Desk". Dispatch News Desk. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
  8. ^ Shenon, Philip (30 September 2001). "Public Lives; A Pakistani Diplomat, Staying Calm in the Storm's Eye". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 21 September 2016.
  9. ^ IANS (15 December 2014). "Pakistan appoints journalist Maleeha Lodhi as UN envoy" – via Business Standard.
  10. ^ "Speaker-Lodhi" (PDF).
  11. ^ "Moderate voice of Islam". 26 September 2003 – via www.telegraph.co.uk.
  12. ^ "Maleeha Lodhi | SOAS, University of London". www.soas.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 10 March 2016. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
  13. ^ "Ambassador Dr. Maleeha Lodhi as Chief Guest of Pakistan American Business Association to Ring The Nasdaq Stock Market Opening Bell". Reuters. 27 August 2015. Archived from the original on 10 March 2016. Retrieved 10 March 2016.
  14. ^ "Maleeha Lodhi appointed as permanent representative to UN - JAAG TV". www.cnbcpakistan.com. Archived from the original on 10 March 2016. Retrieved 10 March 2016.